By DEEP PATEL, Gazebo Assistant Editor

Until recently, upper school students knew that when the clock hits one hour past noon, it was time to make their way to lunch.

However, school officials have now instituted an official “lunch bell.” Students may only enter the lunchroom upon its chime. If a student attempts to enter before the bell rings, he or she will face the consequence of a demerit.

“We have initiated a bell that will ring at 1:05 p.m. to ensure consistency across to board and to be fair toward all students,” said Upper School Assistant Principal Chance Reynolds.

According to Reynolds, “some teachers would let students out of class earlier, so they could go to lunch. But this wasn’t fair for students who didn’t get released early.”

“There was a faculty meeting where there was a discussion, and it was really team building at its best. And, we reached a consensus about the issue with our lunch time,” he said.

The lunch bell serves another purpose. Early entries do not provide the FLIK Services lunchroom staff with enough time to prepare between the middle school and upper school lunches. Reynolds believes the lunch bell also helps resolve this issue.

“Before the lunch room staff didn’t have all the food prepared,” said head chef Josh Roberts. “But after the change they have more time to prepare food.”

So far, students have been great about understanding the situation.